: End marks: are they a good idea? I'm currently writing my thesis and I have come up with old thesis that have an end mark at the last chapter. It usually is a small centered sign. So,

@Jessie844

Use them if you want to. I think this is more common (but not very, any more) in non-tech academic fields.

Personally, I think it adds a little flourish and can be nice as long as you do not do it for every single page.

And of course, there are masses of other alternatives to that specific glyph. You might be surprised, your default fonts often have a few. The old-school connotations can be a nice contrast to tech content.

Vote Up Vote Down

@Shelley591

While Ilan is correct that the specific glyph is a Fleuron, there are various terms for the general concept:


Tombstone
-30-
End Sign


As always with type, there are no hard-and-fast rules or definitions surrounding this. It typically will come down to a style/aesthetic decision on your part.

I can't say if they are common in a thesis or not. They are very common in magazines, less common but not out of the ordinary at the end of chapters in books, and you will also seem them as a flourish on a lot of web site articles as well.

Vote Up Vote Down

@Angela777

The sign you are talking about is FLEURON and DINGBAT.

“It can also be used to fill the whitespace that result from the indentation of the first line of a paragraph,on a line by itself to divide paragraphs in a highly stylized way, to divide lists, or for pure ornamentation”



Every education organisation has its own requirements of how the thesis should be built, thus it is better to follow the rules of your particular institution.

From my point of view you can place tiny beautiful fleurons in your work according to the general theme and topic, it adds value and the feeling of solid work. However, the end point - it is up to you.

Vote Up Vote Down